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The Shinto: Religion Vs. Other Religions

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The Shinto
The Kami or the spirits of the land have been worshiped for thousands of years by the Shinto. This community based religion worships highly localized Kami. Kami loosely translates to spirits in english. “The name Shinto comes from the Chinese characters for Shen (‘divine being’), and Tao (‘way’) and means ‘the way of the spirit.”(BBC) Unlike other religions the Shinto don't entirely believe in just one overarching God or even Gods they believe in the spirits, or Kami. Some of the key distinctions between Kami and Gods are that no Kami is a divine being nor are any omnipotent, Kami are not perfect unlike gods Kami do make mistakes, Kami aren't that different from humans they’re just a higher being, there and good and evil Kami, and lastly Kami aren't some untouchable godly being they don't exist in a supernatural world they reside in an extension of our world. …show more content…

It has become the less of a religion which has allowed Shinto to peacefully coexist with many other religions such as Buddhism and Christianity. Like what was said in the first paragraph the Shinto usually worship a local shrine or Kami associated with their area or beliefs rather than and bigger religion wide set of Kami. “many Japanese don't think that they are practicing Shinto nor are followers of the Shinto religion, even though what they do is what constitutes actual Shinto”(BBC) because it has so strongly affected their

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Although Japan had been open to outsiders, most accounts from those days were either destroyed or not accessible for the public. A major religion, Christianity, was introduced by European missionaries and Perry’s crew. The idea of another religion being openly accepted may have seemed obscure to this secluded community, as the interest was tremendous. The main religion of Japan was Shinto, “Shinto is an optimistic faith, as humans are thought to be fundamentally good, and evil is believed to be caused by evil spirits. Consequently, the purpose of most Shinto rituals is to keep away evil spirits by purification, prayers and offerings to the kami.”

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The Shinto appreciates nature, describing it as a force of beauty, which they celebrate and honor it, since they have built a sense of gratitude towards the natural world. Due to the deep value that the Shinto hold towards nature they believe that the divine spirit dwells in nature, since the divine spirits dwells in nature, they make sure to keep nature pure. As a result, the spirits will bring them joy and a bountiful place for life. Since the Japanese were given an abundant of blessings from nature, they have a sense of harmony or bond that unites them with nature. Not only does nature bless them with resources and food, they also view nature as the dwellings for spirits.

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In the Shinto Religion, Kami is not defined or established as a god. In Shintoism there is no absolute god that is the creator of all humans and nature. Everything was of spiritual existence including materials and inanimate objects. Kami was defined as an awe inspiring, life giving power that can bring people luck or misfortune. We can categorize the type of kami’s into four distinct yet overlapping types that include: natural forces, clan deities (may be natural forces or another type), hero deities, and place deities - mountains, waterfalls, impressive rocks or trees, etc.

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Shinto which translates to “way of the gods” in the English language is a native Japanese religion and the largest religion in Japan alongside Buddhism. The Shinto religion is Japans most practiced religion with nearly 80% of the Japanese people practicing Shinto in one way or another. The Shinto religion is also Japans oldest religion, which evidence shows dates back to 660 BC. The origins of Shinto can be traced well into the past and evidence shows that in its earliest forms the religion was based off of animal and nature worship. Japan is known as Shinkoku, which translates to Land of the gods in English.

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Shintoism is a Japanese religion that has existed for most of Japan’s history. There is no one founder of Shintoism or clear starting point as it has existed for so long, and originally there was no formal name for the religious beliefs of Shintoism. Japan’s current population is 127 million people, and out of all these people, 51% of the religious population are Shinto. However, many Shinto followers are also Buddhists. This religion was formed in prehistoric times, and the first inhabitants of Japan were likely animists (people who believe that natural objects and phenomena have souls), influencing Shinto beliefs about kami (spirits that relate to various natural phenomena).

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When viewing a sumo wrestling match, one may perceive this competition as classic Japanese entertainment while failing to see the underlying religious rituals that have become engrained into the traditional culture of Japan. A sumo match almost always takes place underneath a shrine, and the wrestlers then proceed to perform leg stomping exercises in an attempt to drive evil spirits from the sacred ring. In addition, various purification ceremonies take place in order to cleanse the fighting ring: for example, salt, a substance believed, in the Shinto religion, to have purging and spiritually sanitizing abilities, surrounds the ring in which a match takes place. Because of its deep roots and history in Japan, the Shinto religion has prompted

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Shinto has neither a creator nor a collection of religious texts nor a fixed or consensual body of doctrine. La word " Shinto "means" the way of the gods or spirits ". "This acceptance goes back to an animistic conception of the world, associated with the tribal cult of the clan deities. Shintoism, or Shintoism, is a primitive and popular religion of Japan, named in the eighth century to distinguish it from Buddhism, which Later incorporated many features". It arose from the cult of nature of popular religions, and this is reflected in ceremonies invoking the mysterious powers (spirits or deities) of nature (kami) to receive benevolent treatment and protection.

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Intro Shinto is the formal religion of the state of japan it roots back six hundred years before Christ, it also called the way of the kami because it revolves around the main belief of Kami. Shintoism has no known leader or establisher, so it has no formal sacred text and no official codification of belief. As said before the main belief in Shinto is the belief in Kami which translate to God, divine being or also spiritual essence. One of the main differences between Shintoism and western religions is that in the West the God or divinity is almost always considered all mighty and all powerful while in Shinto Kami are believed to exist not only as spiritual beings but also as spirits of natures. Which means they are believed to exist within

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